Monday, April 8, 2013

A cumulative effort of 3 years of climbing at Ellison Park and all the great times I had down there on Okanagan Lake I leave this guide as a testament to the my love for the little climbing area with lots character! Farewell Vernon........

A fellow route developer/guide book author/avid climber Andy has put together a wonderful blog about Bouldering in the Okanagan, I will let it do the talking, but needless to say if you need any info or have any questions this is where to look! There is also lots of route updates on here!!

The bouldering is really good in the Okanagan valley and it just keeps on getting better, with new routes/problems going up all the time, this should be on the must visit list for all the boulderers out there!

A real gem as far as cragging goes here in the West Kootenays, Waterline is a place where good climbing and variety come together and produce some of the most aesthetic rock climbing around. This will be the first of a few installments of photo topos that describe a certain concentration of routes at Waterline that are worth checking out. This weeks topo I'm nicknaming the "NEW WAVE" which is a combination of steep & powerful routes all stacked together that remind me a little of the Wave at Skaha a little. Located in the of the Raven Wall, the routes go from 5.10d - 12b, all powerful and all amazing. If these climbs were closer to a major city, this place would be crowded. Waterline is a spring/fall crag that faces south west with quick access in a peaceful setting minutes from downtown Castlegar.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Some great sounds coming from this man, hailing from Auckland, New Zealand this guy spins lots of instrumental type beats and works with some other mc's such as K-Wiz (Hy-Definition). Thought I would share my love for hip hop by showing people what it supposed to sound like. ENJOY!

The RFW Wall (Recreation, Fish & Wildlife, named after a program at Selkirk College) is another really cool little crag with a more traditional/mixed theme in the vicinity of Scotty's Marina. It offers some really neat routes that require some tension filled liebacking and committing moves. Yet another addition to this area where all the routes are worth doing. It is located a little further and up from the road (4.5 minutes) which makes the noise of any traffic not as noticeable and the views awesome. Bring a rack to 3" with emphasis on smaller nuts and cams.

ACCESS: As you approach Castlegar from Nelson, follow signs pointing you towards
Syringa Provincial Park & Robson. Turn onto Broadwater Rd. and
follow this past the Pulp Mill & the Dam on Arrow Lake. Now follow the road a few more km's until you hit Scotty's Marina, keep going a little further and just past the Marina you will see a big boulder on the beach (left) and a bigger boulder on your right. Park at the pull on the left, cross the road and take the trail beside the big boulder up through the forest for about 4.5 minutes to where you will see the crag. Routes are described left to right.

RFW WALL

1 - THIMBLEBERRY - 5.9+ - GEAR to 3" - 20m **Scramble up a ramp (5.5) to a really nice ledge where a #3 Camalot will provide you with a beautiful piece of belay protection. From the belay surmount the bulge to where you are greeted with a beautiful layback crack (5.9+), progress from here eases substantially. 2 - FLUSH CUT - 5.10d - MIXED - 4 Bolts + Gear to .75" - 21m **Starts from the same comfy belay as 'Thimble' but take the next open corner to the right. Climb the desperate seam into some steeper terrain and a crimpy bolted finish. Bring lots of small (micro if you can) gear.3 - HORASHIO - 5.10a - MIXED - 2 Bolts + Gear to 2" - 24m **Start down low at a really nice open book corner. Climb the corner/ramp with great nut placements to a bit of a ledge. Take the left (steeper) crack up the corner to where you are greeted with some really sweet jams and laybacking and a final bolted face.4 - TWO PIN CORNER - 5.10c - GEAR to 2" - 25m **Start up the same corner/ramp as 'Horashio' but at the ledge head into the right trending corner. Finger tip laybacking & some serious stemming will see you past the two pins to where some bigger holds greet you up higher. A fun tension filled route!5 - LA FEMME FROMAGE - 5.10c - MIXED - 4 Bolts + Gear to 2" - 25m *Start in the small corner just to the right of 'Two Pin' where some small gear will help you reach the bolted face. Climb up through crimps and finish on 'Two Pin'.

The Arrow Lakes climbing area holds yet another fine south facing crag here that really has a nice concentration of good climbs in spitting distance from your car and the lake. The whole wall is full of these basalt dykes (read: full of jugs) that run vertically down the wall mixed in with the gneiss that make for some really nice climbing. There is almost something at every grade and the easier routes are bolted really well and the climbing is quite friendly, making this a nice casual spot to run laps.
Included here is a nice little photo & topo that should see you through. Thanks again to Vince Hempsall and Climbing the Koots for providing the online updates to the West Kootenay Rock Guide! Link: Rock Guide UpdateACCESS: As you approach Castlegar from Nelson, follow signs pointing you towards
Syringa Provincial Park & Robson. Turn onto Broadwater Rd. and
follow this past the Pulp Mill & the Dam on Arrow Lake. After a few minutes you will reach Scotty's Marina on your left, pass this, drive a few hundred more meters down the road and you will spot a small waterfall on your right (Waterfall Wall) and a nice little pullout on your right. Park here and walk 2 minutes further down the road to where you will find the Zebra Wall directly off the road on your right. Climbs are listed left to right.ZEbRa WALL1 - THE TEST - 5.10d - SPORT - 26m *From an awkward start, (needs some maintenance) climb the blocky corner into some funky moves in the basalt, pull a small roof then transition into some really nice exposed face climbing.2 - MERCENARIES - 5.10+ - SPORT - 27m ***Climb an easy ramp of basalt then switch gears into some tricky face climbing. The climb is sustained and gets harder the higher you go! Very well protected and my vote for the best on the cliff!3- MISSIONARIES - 5.9 - SPORT - 25m **A sporty start through the roof or from the left (bolt) leads into a stellar basalt jug haul! Friendly!!4 - MANIACS - 5.9+ - SPORT - 25m **Climb the next vertical line of basalt on amazing jugs to a surprise finish on the gneiss.5 - THIS IS SERIOUS MAN - 5.11b - SPORT - 23m **Climb through the awesome crescent features on fingery liebacks and reachy moves. Gets harder the higher you go, tenuous!